Operation MilkyWay

Last Thursday Shah and I came home at around 6pm. It was raining and we found that the electric gate was ajar and locked with a chain. I immediately knew that either the gate was not functioning or there was no electricity. I had a strong feeling that it was the latter case and the first thing that came to my mind was my breastmilk stock. All 80 bottles of them. Was it melting? How long has it been left to melt?

The moment we got in, my suspicions were answered. A major lighting striked the house and the fuse box tripped. The strike was major as the ELCB caught fire. It happened at 3pm and for 3 hours my mum has been waiting for the electrician to come. And for the same three hours my milk was left to start melting. Luckily I had placed some Techni Ice and Coleman Brite Ice on top and to the sides of the milk containers in anticipation of this exact incident occuring. Due to this, my frozen milk stock was still fully frozen. So my next concern was when will the elctrician arrive and when will the electricity be restored? Looking at the condition of the fuse box cover (having black spots due to the fire) and the fact that the electrician was 'still on his way' since 5pm, Shah and I knew that this could be a major case and the house would still be dark come night time.

Operation MilkyWay was then in full force. We need to rescue Maisarah's milk. We had to start calling neighbours and friends to ask them for refuge for my breastmilk. At 7:30pm, my mum called our immediate neighbour since they have a deep freezer. Unfortunately, their freezer was full. The other neighbour had a small freezer which was also full. Our hopes were slightly dashed. My sister, Alia, then called her best friend Syakira whom she knows has a huge fridge that is usually not that full. This was our lucky break.

We went there at 8pm with 3 out of 5 plastic containers filled with milk. I brought Maisarah with us, as an added effect to show them that the milk is actually breastmilk but also to cool her down in the car. Poor Maisdarah had been in the hot house since 3pm and at 8pm she was quite cranky from the heat as well as tiredness. Syakira was not home but her parents were. They were understanding of our situation, especially Syakira's mother. She made her helper clear space for the containers and we realised that there was actually enough space for the other 2 containers we left at home. So, sheepishly, Alia and I asked if we could also bring the rest to store there. Syakira's mom was ever accomodating and told us to quickly go and get them.

Alhamdulillah, Operation MilkyWay was successful! All 5 containers were safely delivered to Syakira's house by 8:45pm.

During the events above, the electrician came at around 7pm with no tools in hand. He didn't have a clue what was wrong and was waiting for his friend to arrive. One of the neighbours that my mum called earlier suggested that we call TNB and get them to come over and asses the situation. The TNB technicians arrived when we were on our way to get the 2nd batch of milk to be sent to Syakira's house. They managed to restore the electricity when we got home at 8:45pm. Apparently, they just had to change the ELCB and all was back to normal.

On Saturday, Alia brought back all of Miasarah's milk and they are now safe in the freezer. I will no longer be actively building up the stock. Instead I will just maintain it by using and replacing the same amount each day to ensure that the stock keeps running and doesn't expire. As always, I will keep on praying that this incident will not happen again. I hope this will not happen to any other breastfeeding mothers out there.